Witchcraft

Witches have always been favorite themes in even the most beloved
stories. If you examine many of these tales, chances are there will be a
witch featured as the villain. In Snow White, the evil Queen turns
Sorceress through the use of a magic mirror. This mirror enables her to
not only “see all” but it enables her to transform herself into a hag
thus disguising herself as a beggar. She deceives Snow White by giving
her a poison apple. The kiss of true love, of course, breaks the spell
and Snow White recovers to live happily ever after. Additionally, it was
a curse of the evil Fairy Witch that put Sleeping Beauty to her long
rest. Maleficent casts the spell of death on the child at birth. The
“Good Fairy” who lessens the effects of the spell intercepts the spell.
Sleeping Beauty is only cursed to sleep until the spell is broken by, of
course, true love’s kiss.But Prince Charming wasn’t
always the hero in these tales, sometimes he was the victim. Witches in
fairy tales often turned handsome princes into frogs or some other
beast. The prince was then doomed to scour the land in search of a
maiden to break the spell with a kiss.

In the story of
Hansel and Gretel, the Witch not only kidnapped the children, but also
prepared to have them for her dinner. These fairy tales gave way to the
term Wicked Witch. A term that has type cast witches throughout the
ages. In spite of their negative connotations, the spell of a fairy tale
witch could always be broken.

When these stories were
written, witches were believed to have had the ability to shape-shift,
fly, become invisible, and kill at a distance. They were also believed
to indulge in cannibalism and infanticide. In folklore, witches were
held responsible for the creation of creatures such as vampires and
werewolves. Vampires were believed to be either children of witches or
the product of a witch who had died. In the 1600’s, a French Jesuit
priest named Fr. Francois Richard linked vampirism to witchcraft, using
observations from the Malleus Maleficarum, which stated that 3 things
had to be present in witchcraft: the devil, witches, and permission of
God. Richard added in his works that like witchcraft three things had to
be present in vampirism: the devil, a dead body, and the permission of
God.

Werewolves on the other hand, were believed to have
either been cursed by a witch or perhaps the witch itself had the
ability to transform into a wolf through ritual. Often times, the
afflicted was born under a curse. On the night of the full moon, the
victim would transform into a wolf and roam the countryside killing and
eating its victims. In many cases, if the werewolf is injured, it is
transformed back to human form revealing its identity.In
cases where the sorcerer purposely changes into a wolf, it was usually
believed to do evil and destroy his enemies. The practitioner would rub
some sort of herbs or balm on the body, wear a wolf skin and then recite
magical incantations to make the transformation.

Werewolves
were believed to be servants of the Devil. The church perpetuated that
witches often rode werewolves to attend their Sabbats, or secret
meetings. Werewolf trials and burnings plagued Europe throughout the
15th & 16th centuries, particularly in France.

In the 20th
century classic, The Wizard of Oz, the concept of the good witch and
the bad witch were examined. Being a contemporary tale rather than
medieval, it shows how the concept of black and white magic had come
into perspective. The good witch was the beautiful, Glenda, and as she
put it “only bad witches are ugly.” The Wicked Witch of the West is
portrayed as a screeching green creature flying on a broom that spews
red smoke. She is accompanied by a legion of flying monkey demons that
serve her. Refreshingly, there is no prince’s kiss necessary in this
tale. Young Dorothy destroys the witch with the help of some friends and
finds that she was empowered all along.

In the 1960’s,
Hollywood later turned to a more Satanic portrayal of witches such as in
Rosemary’s Baby. The story line contained all the essentials of what
was presumed to be of witchcraft. The witches worshipped the devil and
made pacts with him. A young, innocent woman is raped and impregnated by
the devil. The child is later stolen from her to be taken care of by
the witches who worship him as the Anti-Christ.Television,
later, in the 1960’s made witches trendy with the comedy show Bewitched.
And through the years, it has been followed by a string of others.
Today, television hosts shows such as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and
Charmed.

Similarly, Hollywood played a part in the
public’s view of Voodoo as well. Numerous movies throughout the 1950’s
and 1960’s portrayed Voodoo as demonic. The theme usually revolved
around the re-animation of the dead into zombies, the living dead.
Horror films such as Candyman and Child’s Play danced around a Voodoo
theme. Even in more contemporary films about Voodoo such as Angel Heart
and The Serpent and the Rainbow, Hollywood couldn’t resist the
temptation to add the element of evil to Voodoo. The theme of the
practitioner having the ability to destroy as well as create, and to be
able to kill from afar continued.

Witches have played a
significant part in folklore as well. In Greek mythology, the goddess
Hecate was the patron of magic and witchcraft. She has been referred to
as the destroyer of life and the restorer of life as well. In ancient
Greece, believers sought to appease her by leaving chicken hearts and
honey cakes on their doorsteps, as offerings.

In contrast
to witches of fairy tales, who were usually ugly, old, and haggled,
witches in folklore were often beautiful and seductive. Circe was a
sorceress in Greek mythology and was daughter to Hecate. She was a
fair-haired beauty who controlled fate and the forces of creation and
destruction with the braids of her hair. Circe is best remembered as the
enchantress who turned the Odysseus’s men into swine.In
ancient Rome, the strix was a night flying demon that could transform
into animals and would attack infants. The strix then became the strega
(witch) of medieval Italy and the strigoi of Romania.

Here in
New Orleans, tales of witches were an integral part of our
folklore. Among the Cajuns, it was believed that when an evil witch
died, she might return as a chauchemar or nightmare witch. This ghostly
creature would attack victims in their bed as they slept. The creature
would pin the victim down, causing temporary paralysis. You can’t
scream, you can’t move. Once she has you, she’ll ride you like a horse.
Many a victim has awakened from griping nightmares to find actual whip
marks on their body as evidence of the attack! In other parts of the
country, as well as in Europe this is referred to as an attack of the
Old Hag. Today we attribute this sort of phenomena to psychic vampirism
rather than witchcraft.

The werewolf legends of France
were brought with the settlers into Louisiana. Here thrived the belief
that a witch’s curse would bring about lycanthropy. Once the soul of a
man is cursed to be the Loup Garou, he will become the dreaded creature,
and will roam the bayou tearing into and devouring whatever or whoever
crosses his path. Cajun legend says that the werewolves even gather for
Loup Garou Balls. It is said that they fly in on large bats, and dance
together under the full moon. If you go out in search of the creature
and your eyes meet his red glowing eyes then you too, will become
transformed into one. Like the legendary vampire, the werewolf can bite
and drink the blood of its victim as well as devour his flesh. Once the
curse is passed on, the previous victim is freed from the spell. If the
creature becomes injured or killed, they instantly become human again.
If you do meet eyes or survive an attack of a werewolf, and if you tell
no one of the incident for one year and one day, you may be freed from
the spell as well as free the spirit of the attacker.History of Magic
The word occult literally means hidden, not revealed, secret,
mysterious. Uncover it and you have magic! Magic is much harder to
define. More than parlor tricks, magic means transformation. The art of
taking thoughts, intentions and emotions and manifesting them into
reality. “The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft,” by Rosemary Ellen
Guilley, describes witchcraft as “…sorcery, the manipulation of
supernatural forces through the casting of spells and conjuring or
invoking of spirits.” The roots of magic go back thousands of years,
predating Christianity, Judaism, and recorded history. Ancient cultures
all applied magic in their early belief systems. God had not only a
masculine aspect but also a feminine one, the Goddess. This represented
the balance between heaven and earth, light and dark, male and female.
Ancient cultures had wise women that were honored and respected in the
community. They were the healers, the midwives, the advisors and the
priestesses. Clearly positive figures in the community. How did these
beloved and respected figures become transformed into hideous creatures
that we think of when we hear the word witch? No figure in mythology or
legend has been so despised and yet so misunderstood. Some historians
believe that when the Indo-European Nomads, (warrior people), invaded
the Middle East, they brought with them their male gods of war. When the
Hebrews settled there in 1300 BC, they perpetuated the one male God. In
the Creation story, it was the female who bears responsibility for the
fall of mankind. Once benign symbols, the goddess, the tree and the
serpent have come to represent evil.

In the Middle Ages, the
church, feeling threatened by Pagan religion invented the link between
Paganism and Satanism. Any innocent act of naturopathic healing,
herbalism, etc. were now interpreted as sinister and the practitioner
accused of consorting with the devil.It was believed during
that time that demons walked the Earth creating disease and pestilence.
If someone had the knowledge to heal, then surely they had the power to
destroy! Most of these healers were women and women were then considered
to be evil.

The church convinced followers that witches
would gather in the forests at night for secret meetings. It was
believed that they would fly through the air, have sex with the devil
and plot against the church. Witchcraft had begun to be associated with
heresy. Beginning in the 11th century, heretics were usually sentenced
to death by burning. More often than not, the victims were burned alive!

The
Inquisition against heretics began in the beginning of the 13th
century. It lasted for the next several hundred years. It is estimated
that 30,000 to nine million people were executed during that time. Most
of the activity was in Germany, France and Switzerland in the 15th and
16th centuries.In his Bull of December 9, 1484, Pope Innocent
VIII turned the Inquisition full force against witches in Germany. (I
find it incredibly ironic that his name be Innocent!) Two years later,
Dominican Inquisitors, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Springer published the
Maleus Maleficarim (literally translating into the Witch Hammer) with
set forth rules for identifying and punishing witches. The book is based
on the Biblical pronouncement in Exodus 22:18, “Thou shall not suffer a
witch to live.”

The inquisition focused mainly on women.
Because traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs hold women accountable for
sin, the church found it easy to presume that women were naturally
predisposed to the evils of heresy.The Maleus Maleficarum
stated that, “ all witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which in women is
insatiable.” It went on to state that women were “feeble-brained,”
“intellectually like children,” “weak in body, impressionable, lustful,
have weak memories and are liars by nature” therefore, “chiefly addicted
to Evil Superstitions.” Often the women accused of witchcraft were
social outcasts, usually spinsters and widows. Generally older and less
attractive, therefore of no use to the men who judged them. Women had
few rights during this time and no say so of their destiny. They were
merely property.

The witch-hunts in England were a bit
different where the Maleus Maleficarum had little effect. It was not
translated to English until 98 years after it was written. England had
it’s own Protestant Demonologist who turned witch hunting into a
profitable profession. Most of the trials in England and Scotland
regarded witches who practiced black magic. Those who practiced positive
magic were spared. The guilty were hung rather than burned.
By the 1640’s, the witch-hunts had reached America. The first recorded
execution was in 1647 in Connecticut. In Salem, 150 people were accused
and 31 convicted of witchcraft. The witchcraft hysteria in America ended
in the 1730’s for the most part. But in the 1790’s, the Haitian
immigrants came to New Orleans with their own brand of magic, Voodoo.